In Case You Missed It

Maui Planning Commission members heard nearly six hours of public testimony Tuesday in Kīhei, with 58 of 66 testifiers opposed to developer requests for land-use amendments for the Honuaʻula master-planned community, a hotly debated 670-acre development south of Maui Meadows and mauka of Piʻilani Highway in South Maui.

Agriculture and wildlife officials are raising concerns after a red-vented bulbul was spotted near Kāʻanapali, Maui. This high-priority invasive pest appears on the Hawaiʻi Injurious Species list and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Top 100 Invasive Species list. The bird poses a serious threat to Maui’s agriculture as well as native ecosystems, according to the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

While Maui County’s mayor has requested Police Chief John Pelletier to be put on administrative leave, the power to hire or remove a police chief rests with the nine-member, volunteer Maui Police Commission.

State Rep. Justin H. Woodson (District 9, Kahului, Puʻunēnē, portion of Wailuku) announced that the House draft of the State Budget (HB300 HD1) includes a proposed $100 million appropriation to cover the remaining funds needed for the construction of Central Maui Elementary and Middle School. 

Maui Police Department spokesperson Alana Pico said: “We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate these claims to be false and will expose those who are deliberately trying to manipulate the legal system to spread misleading narratives.”

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen delivered his third State of the County Address at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater on Friday, expressing renewed hope for residents and progress made in the year and half after the 2023 Maui wildfires.

Four Honolua Surf Co. stores, two Quiksilver, two Billabong and two Volcom stores are set to shut down on Maui after their current inventory sells out, probably near the end of April.

The West Maui Greenway, which also could be used for evacuations during emergencies, received a $15.4 million federal grant in January that the county has nine years to use.

The Maui County Council’s Water Authority, Social Services and Parks Committee has recommended full Council confirmation of Jonathan Likeke Scheuer as the Hawaiian Homes Commission representative to the East Maui Regional Community Board.

The number of homes allowed on a lot could double in some areas under a bill that the county says would help address a housing crisis made worse by the fire.

The clearest near-term risk is federal layoffs, which could result in a loss of more than 2,000 local jobs, fully offsetting growth in construction and the lift from local tax cuts. Together with other federal policies, this places the Hawaiʻi economy at risk of recession over the next few years, UHERO reports. 

A council committee backed the $1.7 million purchase of land that could be used in the short term to house volunteers helping with rebuilding and to store construction materials.

The Mo‘olele was birthed 50 years ago and was in a park along the ocean, at 525 Front Street, when it burned. Timothy ‘Timi’ Gilliom is a captain and the builder of the Mo‘okiha O Pi‘ilani and the new canoe that’s replacing the Mo‘olele, the Nāleilehua.

Maui County Council members voted unanimously 9-0 to approve on first reading an amended Bill 7, revising the County’s fiscal year 2025 budget to appropriate $1.5 million to the nonprofit Festivals of Aloha for the 2025 Maui County Fair.

“Thank you… You guys believed in me,” said Gordon Cordeiro as he hugged family and friends upon his release on Friday afternoon. After more than 30 years behind bars, Cordeiro is a free man thanks to the Hawaiʻi Innocence Project and a ruling by 2nd Circuit District Court Judge Kirstin M. Hamman, vacating a murder conviction and granting him immediate release.

The state says the homes will be converted into a kauhale — a community of tiny homes with shared amenities — though the location has yet to be determined.

Police say seven individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 74, sustained injuries, with three in critical condition and one transported via medevac following the explosion in Kāʻanapali. Preliminary investigations suggest that the explosion may have involved liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which supplies common area BBQs. Witness statements indicate a possible grill malfunction before the incident.

Debris was cleared from 148 commercial lots in Lahaina ahead of the Feb. 26, 2025, deadline. The clearing of the commercial lots follows the clearing of residential properties at the end of August 2024. In total, 1,538 residential and commercial properties have been cleared of wildfire debris.

A Maui County Council plan to contract its own study of the economic impacts of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of Maui County vacation rentals has fallen to the wayside, and Council legislative analysts will conduct research in-house instead.

Construction of the permanent site for the Lahaina wildfire and debris is currently underway in Central Maui on recently purchased land and is expected to be completed in June.